Silver Velvet
by Lightning Ink
Summary: Apathy Syndrome. What is it? One Guardian Trainee is sent to find out. Official Prequel to the Guardian Cycle.


Prologue

I woke up and shook my hair out of my eyes. Man, it smelled funny. There was always something about the stuff that they stuck in my hair to dye it a different color that would make it smell like I spent a week in a paint factory.

Stretching, I go over and wash my face off before donning my standard-issue uniform- solid green with gold stripes, and heading out the door towards the kitchen. My Master, who was also my grandfather, knew the importance of a good meal to start the day off, and boy, was today ever a big day.

I had just gotten the eggs out of the fridge when my idiotic squadmate stumbled out of the hallway leading to the bedrooms and made a beeline towards the coffee-making machine. He wasn't wearing his uniform, as usual, preferring that god-awful orange prison jumpsuit. I had to give him credit for one thing though- those things were damn near indestructible.

After cracking half a dozen eggs and putting up a pack of bacon to fry, I went over to the liquor cabinet and poured myself a shot of whiskey. Yeah, I look too young to be drinking. In fact, I looked no older then fifteen or sixteen. In reality, I was already in my mid-thirties and just getting started.

Immortality and eternal youth, if you wanted it, was part of the job. Also, an ungodly appetite that would only fully kick in after you lost your PCI. No weight gain, since all of the food is burned off naturally by an ultra-hyperactive metabolism. Also, the ability to project visible energy was kickass as well. Gotta love the perks of being a guardian.

It was at this point that my cousin came in. God, she's annoying. She was two years younger then me, but because she had been identified as the next Divine Guardian, her training had been accelerated. There was also a convenient spot where our old teammate had blown his head off in a training accident. Neither of us had been there at the time, but apparently the canopy came off of a training jet and took his head with it. Not a pretty sight.

Speaking of ugly sights, here comes the idiot's cauldron-sized bowl of breakfast ramen, topped with- wait a second, was that _my_ bacon?

Indeed it was. He had taken the whole pound of bacon that I had put up to cook not five minutes ago. Before I could get any of it back, he had already downed half the bowl and was still going strong. I decided that the potential of losing my fingers wasn't worth a couple of strips of delicious pork and went back to my omelet, which, by the time I had turned around, my cousin had already devoured as well.

Son of a bitch.

* * *

After beating those two idiots halfway across the training field for stealing my breakfast, I went back, grabbed a couple of bagels, and headed back to my room to pick up my epaulettes- trainee, to be sure, but most people didn't even make it this far. Almost everyone from my class had already died in some way, if not by initiation, then by the grueling training process.

I attached the silver leaf to my uniform before checking my figure in the mirror. Dyed dark-blue and hanging past my eyes, non-regulation, of course. My one little bit of rebellion against the establishment, which was daring, since my family pretty much ran the establishment.

My dad was one of the most feared combatants of all time. He had earned his name, Crazy Blackjack. He wasn't exactly a high-powered guardian, hell, I could reach a higher ratio then he could. It was just his base was on par with my Grandfather's in his prime, and he was one of the Original Seven. Just him appearing on the battlefield would generally signal a full-on retreat, since had had no fear and would often charge head-first into the enemy's battlelines. But he was a great dad, showing me things that my mother didn't approve of, rest her soul. Of course, he would beat me down once or twice a year to throw some humility back into me.

My grandfather was the key to it all. Founder of the Guardian Corps, First Director of All Guardians, one of the Original Seven Guardians, as well as one of the few retired guardians allowed to live on the Guardian Homeworld, Centralia. Despite the fact that he was retired, he still held enormous clout in our politics. He could also come out and hand even the strongest guardians' asses to them, my dad included.

My uncle was another lynchpin. After my dad had turned down the job, he had taken up the post of the Director, becoming the Seventh Director of All Guardians. His codename, Overwhelming Presence, was also well-earned. Of course, once you took up the mantle of Director, or Divine Guardian, you lost your codename. The current Overwhelming Presence was a smug, self-centered asshole who liked to project to terrorize new trainees.

My dad's already kicked his ass six times.

I already mentioned my cousin once, so let's move on, shall we?

After making sure everything was on right, as well as having used the restroom, seeing as how the ceremony had been know to take eight hours, I set off with my squad toward our graduation ceremony.

Now, a Guardian Graduation Ceremony was radically different from your average run-of-the-mill graduation ceremony. Sure, there was confetti and cheering and what not, but you were also given a graduation mission. Complete that, and you're awarded Second Lieutenant bars as well as a commission as a Guardian, pending the final graduation mission for permanent status.

The ride over to the stadium was agonizing. I knew that if I passed and my squadmates didn't, they would be held back and given another mission. If they failed that one, they were washed out from the program. Of course, the same was applied to me, but I had no intention of failing.

* * *

As we walked into the atrium, hundreds of eyes turned briefly to look at us before returning to their business. A new group of trainees were always fun to taunt, but other then that, not really worth paying any attention to. That was fine by me- I would sneak up on them.

There were twenty-two of us left. The smallest graduating class since the Sixth War. Things had really calmed down since all hell broke loose seven thousand years ago. Apart from the vets of that war, not much was left. The rogues' bases and equipment had been expunged from history, existing only now in the Central Codex, which was restricted to the vast majority of guardians.

* * *

"Trainees! Congratulations! You have made it past basic training! However, you have but taken the first step on a path that you will be traversing for the rest of your life! Second Lieutenants! Step forward to receive your graduation missions!"

I stepped forward, top of my class. Fighting to stiffen my wrist, I took the scroll from my Uncle, who had taken the liberty of being the head of the ceremony this time around. Unrolling it could wait until later. My cousin and the idiot still had to get their mission. It wasn't unheard of for a team to get a combo mission of some sort. I really hope that doesn't happen. Those two couldn't run a stealth op if their lives depended on it.

* * *

"Ah, from the Seventh Director of all Guardians, I bid you welcome. This is Official Mission J-01-GCR, assigned to Second Lieutenant Josh (Last Name Classified) by myself. Your mission is to locate the source of the "Apathy Syndrome" and neutralize it. As this is your first mission and Graduation Mission as well, you will be supervised by Dark Guardian Captain Tanner Smith, Heaven's Wing. As this is the Graduation Mission, your time is limited to twelve months. This dimension is not aware of your powers, so you are forbidden from using them. The location and time: 2009 AD, Gekkoukan High School, Tatsumi Port, Japan."

* * *

Again, another placeholder while i finish, i just want the date.

Xingster


End file.
